The
first thing that I noticed about Mario Party 7 is
that the graphics make everything look as though they
were designed by Fisher Price. After playing the game
it feels as though the gameplay was also created by
Fisher Price. Hey baby, let's shake, rattle and roll.

I
don't know if I've outgrown this game or what. At
my age I've pretty much outgrown everything - including
my size-36 waist. I've played most of the Mario Party
games and all I can think of is that they would be
good for young kids' birthday parties and not much
more. They are too cute for me and lack any real substance
but I can see a niche for such a game. What I don't
really get is that this series hasn't really progressed
in the last few games. It's the same old thing with
slight variations on the mini-games. I don't think
there's an original element in this entire game and
that's just not acceptable. Given the fact that this
is Nintendo's flagship mascot you would expect a better
presentation than this. But Nintendo knows that most
kids won't complain since this isn't meant to be a
single-player platform game. But I will take it upon
myself to complain.

The
storyline is so lame that the game would have been
better off without it. Treat this like a board game
where the winner is the person that collects the most
stars. Using a blend of luck and skill, you roll the
dice and land on various squares, some which will
require you to play mini-games. There are more than
80 mini-games contained here and while it's interesting
to see what the next one is, after you play each of
them a few times the novelty will wear off faster
than a sugar rush.

I
won't ruin the surprises of the mini-games but they
are varied and quite fun to play the first few go-rounds.
The games are varied in that they require different
configurations of players. There are single-player
mini-games and multi-player mini-games that range
from racing to mole whacking. A handful of games require
the use of a microphone to activate the control commands.
It's not entirely necessary but it allows the kids
the chance to shout out loud and release some of their
pent-up energy.

Sharing
each of the four controllers with another player,
the game accommodates eight players altogether making
it perfect for birthday parties or other social gathering
where the medium age is six.

Players
choose from a variety of characters including the
famous Mario brothers. The premise has you and your
gang vacationing on a cruise ship. Old Bowser is feeling
left out since he wasn't invited and he's out to wreak
havoc on your outing. At various times, while on the
board, he will create tornadoes and other anomalies
that can knock you back several squares. It's a wild
card feature that keeps the game from being dominated
from gamers with better-than-average skills.

It
looks colorful, if not a little Playskool-ish. The
controls are easy enough to access with most games
requiring only a couple of buttons to operate. Just
about any kid that can pick his nose can pick up this
game and play it almost immediately. The single-player
mode is really dull. Mario Party games are always
meant to be played at parties. The overshadowing joy
of the social experience keeps kids from noticing
just how shallow this game really is.

The
characters have very little interaction and the cutscenes
are low quality with very little voiceover work. The
comments that you do hear are repeated endlessly.
The music is happy and full of variation. It's got
the requisite upbeat arcade melodies that kids love
with some happening party beats in the background.

Despite
what I say parents will continue to purchase a game
in this series for their kids every Holiday season.
Hey, if I could corral eight screaming, rapscallions
into one room for a couple of hours of peacefulness,
it just might be worth the price.

Preview
By Vaughn

This
Mario dude sure throws a lot of parties. I'm glad
I don't live next door to him. That's all I need is
to see a drunken Wario taking a leak on my lawn at
4:00 am. Oh, it's not those kind of parties? Well,
good. I think....

What
can be said of Mario Party 7? This will be the fourth
GameCube installment of the popular series and it
doesn't look like much has changed. We're unsure if
the Microphone peripheral packaged with the last game
will be included and/or supported this time around.
By my account it was a gimmick, like all Nintendo
peripherals, to throw you off the "been there,
done that" scent and I doubt there is a game
industry pundit in the vicinity of 20,000 miles that
wouldn't agree with me.

More
mini-games, more Mario, more eveything that makes
Mario Party exactly what it is and has been for 8
years now. Don't expect any surprises.